Falling In Love
by x-menobsessed26
Summary: "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." - Mignon McLaughlin [One-shot]


**This fic is based off of a quote by Mignon McLaughlin which says "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." **

**I am also messing with the realities a bit, redoing the characters' origins, ages, etc. I hope you can forgive me! :)**

"Ms. Grey?" Kitty started. "How long have you and Mr. Summers been together?"

Jean sighed. She'd known they'd been dying to ask these questions ever since they'd started reflective journals in her creative writing class, causing them to go over events in their own lives. She had dodged most questions thus far, but knew she would be cornered at some point, like a bug under a shoe.

She took off her reading glasses and set them on top of a stack of tests, "Why do you ask?"

The girl blushed, "I'm just curious."

Jean chuckled, "A long time, Kitty. That's all you need to know."

"Why don't you just tell them, Jean?" Ororo stated with a grin, coming into the classroom to drop off a stack of worksheets she had copied for her friend. "A little story never hurt anyone."

"It'll hurt you if I tell about that time after high school when you and Dr. McCoy-"

Ororo pointed her finger at the other woman's chest with a mock glare, "If you finish that sentence, you'll be feeling exactly what one of my bolts can do to you."

Jean finally chuckled, "Still, I believe you all have been working diligently enough the last few weeks, and we are ahead in our lessons. Do you really want a story?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Jubilee asked, popping her gum.

"I guess not, but first I need to know what I'm explaining exactly, which will require you telling me why you want to know, Kitty."

The young girl blushed under her teacher's gaze, "I just...wanted to know if you two have been together a long time and...if it was going to stay that way."

Jean finally understood. Kitty's parents had just gotten a divorce, and it had taken its toll on the girl with her caught in the middle of a custody battle. Jean could remember when her own parents had been on the brink of divorce (they hadn't actually gone through with it) and how much she had given up on love. She could see why Kitty would want reassurance that her practically surrogate parents wouldn't just suddenly break up.

Jean stood, walked around to the front of her desk and leaned against it, "Okay, where to begin? Well, we met when we were fourteen. Scott was moving in and seeing the place for the first time. Actually, he wasn't seeing much of anything, being effectively blinded by his powers. I had been living at the mansion for almost two years already, and being the only other student there, Professor Xavier thought it fit to have me take him around.

"We began talking along the way, but we were both shy, me by nature, him by fear of rejection due to his powers. However, we found some common ground and hit it off as friends, quickly establishing some sort of a bond. Another student came to the school three weeks later, the one who was in here a minute ago, and we all hit it off as friends.

"The bond between Ororo and I is like that of sisters, but between Scott and I it always seemed different. We were always close, best friends really, but still incredibly shy around each other despite being close. It led to some awkward encounters, as you might imagine.

"We were at high school commencement when he decided to lean forward over the section in front of him, we attended a rather small public school so the student population was minimal, and asked me out. I agreed."

Jean smiled, looking thoughtful, "I was eighteen when we had our first date. I'm thirty-three now. Taking four years away from that which I spent completely dedicated to medical school, not dating a damn person including Scott, you are left with eleven years we've been together."

She felt more than saw the collective shock of the class. She took a bit of pride in that, having been with someone so long. Even though most other people didn't, including herself, she still knew Scott considered those four years part of their dating. They'd still emailed more than enough, and Scott hadn't dated anyone either. Those years, combined with the ones they'd been flirting with before he officially asked her out, make them close for more years than most of her current students had been alive.

"But how did you stay together for so long?" Kitty asked, probably not noticing the hints of desperation and longing in her voice.

Jean laughed, hoping that her happiness would influence the class, "If you think there haven't been times that the relationship has felt stale, you're wrong. And there were enough fights between us to warrant some pretty loud temporary break-ups, but those never lasted more than three days."

Bobby laughed, "If you fought so much, why would you keep going back to him?"

"Thank you, Mr. Drake, for getting right to my point," she winked. "What was it that made me go back, since there had to be something if everything else was so troubling? The boys in the room may want to cover their ears from the cheesiness of the statement I'm about to make."

She paused a moment for effect, but she also sensed they were watching interested with a disguise of disgust. Typical.

"He made me fall for him time and time again."

A few people groaned as if they were in pain from hearing it, more laughed, and Kitty's eyes widened, possibly beginning to understand.

"Kitty, all relationships are different because all people are different. Some people use money, some use fame, but Scott used his vulnerability. Obviously," she cast a look to some of the people who had groaned. "A lot of people don't enjoy showing that they care about something, particularly members of the male species, but that's how he made me stay. He showed me he cared."

"I thought it was just because of my ridiculously good looks," Scott grinned from the doorway.

She rolled her brown eyes with a matching smile, "Sorry, Slim, but those will never be enough for me when mine are so much better."

Scott pouted, causing Jean to laugh again. He always looked so adorable when he pouted.

"Was that enough of a story for you?" Jean asked Jubilee.

She crossed her arms with a huff, "No. The bell hasn't rung yet."

The class and two teachers snickered. Jean sighed in mock exhaustion, "Ah, there's only a few minutes left. You can go."

Cheers filled the class as the teachers dodged the stampede of students running for the doors. Jean managed to trip over her own feet during that time and fall right into Scott's arms. He grinned at her, "And this, children, is how Jean manages to keep me with her."

She looked up at him adoringly, "Don't you have a class of your own to bother?"

"Nah, it was shop. We were finished with our project, so I let them go early."

Jean nodded, "So you thought you'd disrupt my creative writing class?"

"It sounded like you were doing enough disrupting on your own, Ms. Grey. However, I like stories. I may forgive you if you tell me one," he smirked.

Jean's brown eyes grew mischievous, "Did I ever tell you the story of a blue man and a woman with white hair?"

"Shut up, Grey," Ororo shouted from the next room.

Scott looked mock thoughtful, "You know, I may have read something about that once. Something about a Vegas casino and sake."

Thunder rumbled overhead, causing them to share a grin and follow their students out the door.

**No, I'm not super happy with how this story turned out, but I felt like writing another one-shot before I update some of my other stories. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!**


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